ICE DRAGON CHRONICLES
By: The Awesome God Apollo
Disclaimer: If I owned Bleach, Toshiro would be the main character. And would have owned Aizen. And Gin. And Harribel. And Shawlong Qufang. And Yukio. (Oh wait, he did.) He's not. I'm sure you can figure out the rest.
IMPORTANT! Read at the very least the last bit of my author's note, even if you think it looks long, because it's important. Start from where it says IMPORTANT! at the very least if you're rushing.
Chapter 3 – In Between
Takahashi Chojiro was well-informed.
Well, at least he liked to think so. Having been around for as long as he had, having gone through the Academy, then through the ranks of Shinigami, he had made a lot of friends in between. Though he eventually returned to the Academy as a teacher and finally became the Headmaster, his... friends kept him in the loop, and since he knew people who were captains (he had learned much from Shunsui's big mouth), as well as those who were a little lower in terms of rank, he was rather in tune to the latest in Seireitei, be it gossip or fact.
And it was for this reason that he was not easily surprised. He liked to think he knew it all, or at least enough not to be caught off guard by anything that could be thrown at him these days.
Naturally, the Universe just had to prove him wrong.
He was absolutely flabbergasted as he stared at the remains of the Orb in the child's hands. That Orb had been built by Urahara Kisuke, the genius of geniuses who was said to be the most intelligent man ever to have lived. It was virtually indestructible, in his entire tenure as Headmaster, it had never been broken, not by anyone, no matter who they were or had gone on to become. Not Kuchiki Byakuya, not Soifon; Kenpachi Zaraki had come close but had only made a hairline crack. Just who was this kid?
His reiatsu had felt off, though. Like it had been held back for too long, and had just been suddenly let go. But no one, no matter what their age, should have that much control over their reiatsu without training. Even full-fledged Shinigami had problems with it, and this kid had never even set foot inside of Seireitei before, as far as he was aware. Everything about this child seemed to be just too surreal.
Chojiro stepped towards the boy. Minor cuts and grazes covered the his arms all the way up to his elbows, while two small shards of glass were shallowly embedded in his palms. As Chojiro reached out towards his still upturned hands, the child flinched away but winced as he instinctively clenched his fists.
"Relax. I'm trying to help." Chojiro couldn't blame him for being wary, the Orb had just exploded.
Hitsugaya bit his lip in indecision, and when he didn't reply after several moments, Chojiro sighed and continued, "I'm just going to heal you. Hold out your hands."
A spark of curiosity ignited in the boy's eyes and he hesitantly extended his hands towards the man in front of him. Being the Headmaster, Chojiro was, and had to be, well-versed in all Shinigami arts, which included kidou. As Hitsugaya watched him with carefully concealed intrigue, the man placed his hands so that they were hovering just above the other's and concentrated his reiatsu carefully. A familiar, gentle yet tingling sensation spread warmth across his intertwined hands in a soft green glow, very different from the harsh light of the Orb from before.
Hitsugaya was watching the process with much interest as the grazes on his arms simply sealed as though they had never existed. This left his skin as smooth as it had been before it was marred by wounds from the Orb. The glow waned slowly and eventually died, and Hitsugaya held up his hands and flexed them experimentally.
"What did you do?" his voice was soft.
Before Chojiro could respond, the child was engulfed in a crushing embrace from behind by the strawberry-blond. His head was buried in her rather ample... assets, something he realized immediately as breathing became much more difficult for him.
She simply squealed to him; "Isn't this great? I knew you were powerful! Didn't I tell you that you needed to join the Academy! You'll make a great Shinigami someday! I'll even let you join my division! Maybe you would be the fourth seat if-"
Her babbling was interrupted by Shunsui. "Maa, Ran-chan... Maybe you should loosen your hold, he doesn't look like he can breathe..."
She looked down, only to finally notice Hitsugaya's frantic attempts to break free of her iron grip. She released him and he staggered away from her, red in the face, but from embarrassment or lack of oxygen, Chojiro couldn't tell.
After the kid regained his breath, Chojiro continued before he could be interrupted again; "That was kidou."
At the blank look he received, he elaborated. "It's a branch of Shinigami arts, next to hoho, hakuda and zanjutsu. You'll learn about them in your classes. There are two types of classes, practical and theory. The first years should have mostly finished theory by now so you'll have to work hard to catch up. The teachers will be willing to help you if you need it."
There came a slight scoff from the doorway where Marejirosaburo stood but it was blissfully and dutifully ignored. Chojiro sat down heavily in his chair and pulled a form from the depths of his desk drawer. That just so happened to be invisible beyond the mounds of paperwork that was piled on his tabletop.
He turned abruptly towards them; "We need to take care of some administrative matters first. I need to formally enroll you, and you'll need a uniform..." he said absentmindedly, filling out blank after blank on the form.
"To enroll in the Academy mid-year, you need a Shinigami sponsor. Shunsui, I'm using your name. No complaints." He continued talking as he also kept writing on the sheets of paper before him.
Shunsui smirked and tipped his hat forward. "It's not as though I get a choice, ne?"
The kid looked torn between being grateful to the man or angry at the fact that he was dependent on him. Chojiro moved on before either said anything; "The problem is accommodation. Since you're so late, and the school has had an unusual amount of new student in the last few years, all our first-year dorms are full. I'll likely be accused of favoritism if I do this, but I'll have to assign you a sixth-year room. It's all we have left at the moment."
This time, the indignant snort was far too loud to ignore. Chojiro folded his arms on the table and looked at the opposing man; "Is there a problem, Marejirosaburo-san?"
The man looked enraged; "With all due respect, sir, he's just a brat! It's bad enough you're letting him in, but giving him a sixth-year room? It's ridiculous!"
Chojiro folded his hands together and simply raised a brow; "Might I remind you, Marejirosaburo-san, that I am the Headmaster and I have the final say here, not you. Hitsugaya-kun has passed the entrance exam with flying colors, and as that is the only necessary requirement for someone to enter the Spiritual Arts Academy, even I at this point have no right to refuse him entry."
Chojiro swore he heard the woman snickering behind her hand at the scene as Marejirosaburo deflated like a pricked balloon. Shunsui had hidden his own smirk below his hat once more, while the child sported a frown of impatience, but the amused twinkle in his eyes said otherwise.
Chojiro bound the papers together, as to be ready for filing later; "The official registration will take all of tomorrow, but I'm unofficially assigning you the room now anyway. It's late, get some rest and take care of the rest of your affairs tomorrow. You need to get a uniform, and get whatever books from the library. Just give the librarian this."
He handed the child a note he had written while he was talking. Taking it as a dismissal, the kid gave him a quick bow. Just as Marejirosaburo was about to stalk out, Chojiro stopped him; "Marejirosaburo-san, would you be so kind as to show Hitsugaya-kun his room? It's number 1010 (1) on the 3rd floor."
He chuckled as he distinctly heard a growl as the man walked off stiffly, followed by the boy.
"Not the best of friends, are they?" Shunsui was standing in front of the desk.
"No, not really. He's from a noble family, you know how they can be."
Shunsui nodded; "Do I ever. Saa, Ran-chan, let's not tarry (2) here any longer, there are still open sake bars!"
He turned to Chojiro with an almost challenging smile; "Maybe you should get some sleep for a change..."
Chojiro returned the jab; "Maybe you should do some work for a change. Your Lieutenant might die of happiness. But we both know that's impossible."
Shunsui grinned as he walked out, the woman pulling his arm impatiently as he shot a smile at him over his shoulder; "Nice seeing you again, Chojiro. Jaa!"
Chojiro smirked and shook his head, going back to his never-ending pile of paperwork as the door closed.
PAGE BREAK PAGE BREAK
(From here onwards, it's sort of Toshiro's POV, just not in first person)
Toshiro followed quietly after the man in front of him. Who obviously disliked him with a passion and seemed to want to make his life miserable by any means.
It didn't matter anyway. Toshiro was more concerned about other things, namely Granny and Momo. Granny...Would she be worried when she realized he was gone? When that thought crossed his mind, he seriously contemplated going back to see her right then, but he quickly ruled it out. It wasn't like they'd let him anyway, not at this time at night. He'd go see her after he got his uniform. She'd be busy in the morning anyway, she normally worked in order to pay for food to satisfy his hunger. At this, he felt another pang of guilt and resolved to make it up to her. But he couldn't...wouldn't go back. He wouldn't be responsible for killing his grandmother.
Momo...What would she say when she saw him? What could he say when he saw her? She had left them. Both of them. She hadn't even kept in touch, despite all her promises. They had been so close before she left, and now, would he just be a kouhai (3) to her? Would she be happy to see him? Or angry at him for leaving their grandmother? Would she even talk to him anymore? Oh Kami, what if she found out he nearly killed Granny...?
He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice the man in front of him stopping until he crashed rather unpleasantly into the man's rear. He craned his neck upwards to meet a scowling face.
"Watch where you're going, brat." He thrust a set of keys in his face, and Toshiro accepted them quickly, wanting to get rid of him as soon as possible.
"This is your room. Have fun." He spat the last word out like venom and stormed away.
Toshiro watched with a raised brow before turning to the door in front of him. It was a simple, Japanese-style sliding door with a strange-looking lock (4) set on the side. It had the number '1010' etched on the wall beside it. He unlocked the door and went in after removing his shoes. (5)
The room was pretty nice, nicer than he was used to. They had a futon in the corner furthest from the door, and there was a simple desk and chair set in another corner. A plain cupboard and drawer set was lined up against one wall, next to a door that he assumed led to the bathroom. The walls were a simple beige and there was a window above the desk, overlooking a large piece of land that looked like a garden. A bit too tired to explore any further, he lay down on the bed, fully intending to get some sleep before dawn came.
PAGE BREAK PAGE BREAK
Toshiro had a body clock that woke him up at exactly dawn each day. Sure enough, when he opened his eyes, the sky was a beautiful orange, stained by the barely-risen sun. He went into the bathroom and rinsed his face with cold water from the tap and attempted to smooth out his rumpled clothing and hair so he wouldn't look like he just got out of bed. It didn't really work, not for his hair anyway. He sighed and left the room, locking it carefully behind him.
It didn't take him very long to get lost. The school was a virtual labyrinth, each path split into two or more, and those would lead to even more hallways. Toshiro couldn't ask for directions since it seemed that nobody was up yet...Well, almost nobody. As Toshiro passed one of the windows in the hall he noticed a young man with most of his hair swept into a bun (6) training with a sword on the grounds. He contemplated finding his way there and asking him for directions, but dismissed the thought quickly. Eventually Toshiro noticed someone coming out of a door.
It was a young man, who looked like he was in his late twenties (physically of course). He wore rimless glasses and his ebony hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail. He was wearing the same outfit that Matsumoto had been wearing last night, which meant that he was a teacher, not a student. Toshiro decided to ask him for directions. He looked far kinder than the man from last night anyway.
"Ano, excuse me, but do you know where the entrance onto the Academy grounds is? I'm new here and I'm lo- I can't find it." He quickly corrected himself so he wouldn't seem incompetent.
The man smiled amicably. "New here, huh? Oh! You must be the kid Marejirosaburo-san was compl- telling me about this morning!"
He was beaming now. "It's nice to meet you. From what I heard, and from your age, I can tell you have a lot of potential. I'm Tachibana-sensei. I'll be teaching you kidou for the rest of the year."
The man was very hyper, Toshiro noted as he babbled on. At least he'd have one decent sensei this year. "Sensei, I need to leave the grounds to get my uniform, but I can't find the entrance. Would you mind...?"
"Sure, sure. I was just headed into Seireitei. C'mon, kid, let's go!" He ruffled his hair, causing Toshiro's eye to twitch slightly, but he followed obediently behind as the man bounded off.
They passed through many halls, and try as he might, Toshiro couldn't keep track of all the twists and turns. After ten minutes, he began to doubt Tachibana-sensei actually knew where he was going, but eventually they reached a large hall.
Until then he had been tuning out Tachibana-sensei's mindless chatter, but he started listening as soon as the man started telling him about the Academy.
"This is the dining hall, as you can see, it's rather empty now, but it's mostly for the students and almost all of them are asleep right now. Us teachers have our own separate dining hall. This room leads to a lot of different places. The block we just came from was the housing block, that's here all the students live. The teachers live there too, on the first floor."
"The block over there," he indicated towards the far end of the hall; "is the classroom block, where all the classes are. All the venues for practical lessons are in that general area as well."
"That door," he pointed to the left, "leads to the hallway that's goes to the garden. The library is also near the end of that hallway. And the door leading to the entrance hall of the Academy is over there."
He strode over to the door that was to their right, and swung it open. A large, empty hall, smaller than the dining hall, stood in front of him.
"This is basically the central area of the school. It leads to all the blocks I just told you about as well as the Headmaster's office. And it opens up to the front grounds, which is where the entrance to Seireitei is. That's where we're headed."
Toshiro followed silently, amazed by the sheer size of the Academy. They walked across the lawn in front of the Academy towards the tall gates they had jumped, or walked, over last night. At the reminder, Toshiro instantly felt his mood darken. He would get back at those two someday...
The man in front of him was completely oblivious to any danger he might have been in. They walked together to the entrance. The man guarding the entrance sent them a slightly curious look upon noticing Toshiro, but let them through anyway, probably since Tachibana-sensei was a teacher. They walked a bit further but Tachibana-sensei came to a halt at the fork in the path.
"You're going to get your uniform, right? The store is in the retail section in that direction. I'm going to visit a friend of mine in Division 5 before my classes, so we part ways here. I look forward to having you in my classes!"
Toshiro bowed slightly; "Arigato, Tachibana-sensei." He walked off down the path he indicated.
Toshiro walked for about fifteen minutes before more stores and restaurants started appearing, until he stood in the heart of the retail district in Seireitei. He felt a bit lost when everyone was wearing a shihakushou and he was by far the shortest person there. Not to mention everyone was at least thrice his age. Toshiro wandered around for at least 45 minutes before he found the store that sold uniforms. He heard a cheery jingle as he pushed the door open and went in.
Meanwhile...
"Are you sure about this?"
"Yes, sir, my colleague is a good source of information... especially when he is complaining..."
"Very well, I'll send someone to check it out. Good job. Keep me informed."
Back at the store...
"Welcome!" a chirpy voice greeted Toshiro from behind a counter.
As the figure drew closer, she continued. "Kiddo, are you lost? Did your sister or brother send you to collect their uniform?"
Toshiro frowned. Wasn't it obvious? Normal souls weren't allowed in Seireitei..."Iie, (7) actually, I'm a new student."
She giggled unabashedly. "Oh! So you must be the new student the Academy just accepted!"
Upon noticing Toshiro's perplexed look, she continued; "The Headmaster sent me a Hell Butterfly."
When he heard that, Toshiro got even more confused, but he decided not to mention that to the overly-happy woman in front of him. He'd go look it up in the library later. "You need a uniform right? I don't know whether I have anything that will fit you, you're so tiny!"
Toshiro growled softly under his breath but the woman took it in stride. "Let me go get some uniforms and we'll see what fits you." She beamed and walked into the back of the store, leaving Toshiro staring dumbfounded at her.
She came bouncing back with a pile of fabric in her arms. "These are the smallest male uniforms I have..." she held them up and handed them to him before shoving him towards the back of the store.
"Go on, change!"
She didn't even bother trying to restrain her laughter when he stepped out of the small room. The entire ensemble was way too big... the sleeves and pants lengths alone were at least 7 inches (18-ish cm) too long and draped over his hands and feet, completely obscuring them, and the fabric was so loose he looked like he was drowning in it, the collar slipping slightly down his shoulder. He looked like a child playing dress-up and he knew it. (8)
Toshiro gave the woman his best glare but it didn't seem to work, if anything, she laughed harder. After almost 5 minutes straight, she finally stopped laughing long enough to gain some semblance of coherency. Not that that helped much. "Ah! KAWAII~! (9)"
He winced at her shrill voice and folded his arms, or would have if the massive amount of cloth hadn't stopped him. When she stopped squealing to regain her breath, he cut her off before she could continue; "Oi, I can't attend the Academy like this! I need a proper uniform!"
She grinned at him. "Welllll... I do have several female uniforms at the back... The sizes are smaller..."
She didn't get to finish before she was cut off by a death glare; "Okay, okay, we'll just alter this one! Sheesh..." she muttered the last word under her breath.
She grabbed a handful of pins from the back room and proceeded to prod and poke at the chibi. Toshiro stood there for at least an hour while the woman poked and prodded at him, refusing to let him shift even slightly as she jabbed him...well, his uniform, full of pins. Finally she was done; "Go change out of that, and don't you dare take any of the pins out, or we'll have to do all of that all over again."
He stalked off in as dignified a manner as he could but the woman's silent giggles from behind his back told him it wasn't working. He pulled off the uniform as fast as possible, and slipped back into his own, much more suitably-sized clothes in relief. Toshiro walked out of the room and handed her the bundle of fabric. She smiled down at him.
"I'll need to make the alterations now, since I assume you want it by tomorrow. It'll only take me an hour, so you can leave the store, but come back to pick it up, okay?" He nodded and left thankfully.
Once he was out of that hellhole and away from the crazy woman, Toshiro seriously thought about going straight to see his grandmother, since she would have probably noticed him missing by then. Although he only had an hour, and he wanted to spend the rest of the day with her, so there was no point going to see Granny and leaving halfway to pick up his uniform. With that thought in mind, Toshiro wandered around the area near the shop, ignoring the eerie feeling of someone's eyes on him.
Most people didn't even glance at him, too preoccupied or busy to even notice the small boy beside them. One or two would occasionally send him curious looks, puzzled as to why a child was inside Seireitei, but he just walked away before they could question him. He walked past several bars and restaurants, as well as other shops that sold random trinkets and even more bars (Shinigami really seemed to have a liking for alcohol...), before turning back to head towards the store and the crazy woman again after most of the hour was up.
He was so distracted while he was walking that he didn't notice someone standing right in front of him until he crashed straight into their chest.
"Well, hello theh, lil' one!" (10)
Toshiro backed up straight away when he heard that voice. It sent shivers down his spine. He looked up and saw a man towering over him. He had silver hair that just barely fell down to his shoulders, and a wide smile that stretched across his face permanently to the point that his eyes were closed. The man was wearing a normal Shinigami shihakushou, with one exception... He had a captain's haori draped over his shoulders.
Toshiro instinctively moved away from the man. He looked strange, almost as though he had been expecting them to meet... but that wasn't possible... Was it?
The man bent down so that he was eye-to-eye with him, and Toshiro straightened, pushing aside his fear in favor of indignation. He wasn't a child, dammit!
"I think yeh know Ran-chan, ne, chibi-chan?" Toshiro bristled in anger.
"Who are you?" Good, his voice didn't waver.
The man grinned. "Yeh've got guts, I like tha'. I jus' said, Ran-chan tol' meh abou' yeh. Mah name's Ichimaru Gin."
Author's Note:
(1) Yes, I SO went there.
(2) Sorry about this. First thing that came to mind. I'm doing Shakespeare for literature.
(3) Kouhai, for those who don't know, is the opposite of senpai/sempai. It basically means junior, and is what, for example, a sophomore would use to address a freshman. A freshie speaking to a senior would call them senpai/sempai.
(4) It's the western kind of lock, I don't know whether they have those in traditional Japanese doors, but I just put it in anyway. And Toshiro calls it strange because he's never seen one before.
(5) I suppose I should call them tabi, but I don't want to, since I'm not sure when exactly one uses tabi anyway. I know they come with the shihakushou though.
(6) XD
(7) Iie, or iie, basically means no. It's pronounced ee-eh. Yeah.
(8) I fail at humour. TT_TT Which is weird because normally I can make people laugh their $$es off...
(9) Yes, I did just make that woman a Shiro fangirl. I know. Btw, kawaii means cute.
(10) I hope I got it right guys, this is my first time writing...him... _ :/
Rant starts here:
OMG IS IT TRUE THAT BLEACH IS ENDING IN MARCH YOU GUYS? Because that's what a lot of people are saying. But I remember reading in an interview somewhere that Tite Kubo wanted to "continue Bleach for as long as possible, maybe even ten years? Who knows?" Gah! Noooo! DON'T END YET DAMMIT! I'VE ONLY BEEN A SHIRO-CHAN FANGIRL FOR 4 MONTHS! Okay, rant over.
On another note, LATEST EPISODE *SPOILER* SHIRO-CHAN VS YUKIO SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEE~~~~~! *SPOILER OVER* *ahem* sorry.
I've decided to just randomly add epic quotes to my author's notes, and while I refuse to edit my old ones (too much hassle with all the typing, and clicking, and replacing... Meh), I'll just start here. So since I missed out three, I'll give you guys four this week, all off the top of my head!
-But they were Haverfords, a name in Maycomb County synonymous with jackass - To Kill A Mockingbird Chapter 1 (Word for word without the book! Take that, Literature-teacher-who-shall-not-be-named-lest-I'm-sued-for-defamation-not-that-I-can-be-since-I'm-a-minor!)
-I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it by not dying - Woody Allen
-Imitation is the sincerest form of television - Fred Allen
-There are two things in this world that are infinite: the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the universe - Albert Einstein
On a random note, I was lying down in my room typing this out and studying for my last exam which was the day after then when suddenly this chiming noise comes from the TV room, turns out my domestic helper found an ants' nest in some random corner because my brother forgot to throw away some food stuff, and so she emptied the cupboard, and took out this huge-ass clock, and it started chiming. And now it won't stop! ARG!
Sorry for that. I enjoy being irrelevant. Author's notes provide a good place to vent. Speaking of which,
1) OMG I AM GOING TO DIE! I need to come up with a story based on the problems in the future for any one of these five categories: All in a Day's work (working hours, work vs relaxation, etc), Coal Reefs, Human Rights, Trade Barriers and Pharmaceuticals. TT_TT I'm completely drawing blanks here.
2) I entered my essay into the Royal Commonwealth Essay Writing Competition last year, and I'm entering again this year, and I'm just curious to know how many of you guys have heard of it/ever entered or are planning to enter it. Cos I am. Yeah. I actually intend to tweak it a bit and post it as a fanfiction.
Is it just me or did my writing style change somewhat? I dunno, it feels like it changed... This chapter didn't really flow, y'know? Normally they do. It doesn't seem as good. If you agree/disagree, tell me why or why not please. Its rather important for me to get back into my groove...
IMPORTANT! Okay, I am SO SO SORRY you guys for this late update. This is what happened, first, I wrote the wrong date last chapter, instead of Sunday 4th March I wrote 28th Feb, which was pretty impossible for me. Then, the week between the 28th and 4th, I got my results for my tests, and since I didn't study for them and did "badly" (c'mon! An 88% is pretty decent! Not the best, but decent!), my parents confiscated my laptop and banned me from the computer. Which was also why I didn't PM a lot of you guys. Sorry about that. I just got my laptop back. Also, I recently got addicted to Prince of Tennis sooo... Yeah. FUJI SYUUSUKE *heart*
Anonymous Review Responses:
natheriver: Thank so much, nice to know you like it. Thanks again for the well-wishes, and yeah, good luck to you too, at least there are other people suffering too right? ;) Nah, it's okay. Your English is fine. XD P.S. please review again.
lili: Yay, you reviewed again! Assuming it's the same person, because honestly, what are the odds... Anyway, thanks so much! Hope this chapter didn't disappoint and please drop a line again!
cheese: Mmhmmmm. Getting lazy, are we? Pfffft. Just cos you're rich doesn't mean you have to have good taste, have you not seen that episode where he recommended the design for that phone in the SMA? I know you can't. :) You should've already read it anyway...
Someone: Nice name ;) You're welcome. So many people use the other system whose name I do not know so I thought I'd make life for you guys easier and just give both. Same in this chapter.
To the non-anonymous reviewers, I've been very lazy about replying to your reviews today. Sorry! I will A.S.A.P., k? Please review again!
I'm currently on a week-long holiday and hoping to churn out the next chapter soon. Please review! And thanks so much to the people who reviewed, claire-1010, keiriala, natheriver (anonymous person), lili (also anonymous person), Ice Prince Hitsugaya, Winter Lover in the Snow, foxdemonsrock, cheese (why do you persist in using that name when I know exactly who you are... anonymous person, sort of), The Swordsman, Prince of Winter Dragons, Someone (anonymous person), Countdown, bookworm83197 and Captain Bitch Ninja! :) Thanks so much for the people who alerted and favourited, and please remember to review next time :) Thanks also to Ice-Prince Hitsugaya for beta'ing and cheese for kicking my ass into gear.
Sorry for the super long author's note. ;) (This is longer than my normal, in terms of both chapter and author's note, so I hope they make up for each other.)
T.A.G.A. 3